Cigarette perforating device



March 12, 1963 H. GRANACHER 3,080,872

CIGARETTE PERFORAIING DEVICE Filed Aug. 22, 1961 United States Patent O 3,080,872 CIGARETTE PERFORATING DEVICE Hugo Granacher, Berlin-Tegel, Germany, assignor to Ernst Probstl, Trielberg, Germany v V Filed Aug. 22, 1961, Ser. No. 133,261 9 Claims priority, application Germany Aug. 24, 1960 8 Claims. (Cl. 131-170) The present invention relates to a cigarette perforating device, in general, and to a device for perforating .the

wrapper of tobacco smoke producing elements, in particuof the cigar or cigarette, the perforationis, preferably,

doneby the smoker himself, immediately prior to the start of smoking.

It has been'found'that-the known cigarette perforating devices have certain inherent disadvantages.

Itis, therefore, one objectof the present invention to provide a cigarette perforating device, which avoids the disadvantages of the devices heretofore known for perforating the paperwrappers of cigarettes and wrappers of other tobacco smoke producing elements.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a cigarette perforating device which comprises a holder, disposed in a preferably fiat casing, for receiving the cigarette inserted through an aperture in one of the end walls .of the casing and freely rotatable within the holder, as

well as a needle bed arranged within the casing on the side acing the cigarette, and equipped with needle points for perforating the wrapper tube of the cigarette, while the needle bed rides tangentially over the latter.

it is still another object of the present invention to provide a cigarette perforating device, which comprises two needle beds; disposed in opposite arrangement within a casing and riding tangentially over the cigarette, the length of each needle bed corresponding to approximately oneghalf of thecircumference of the wrapper tube, which arrangement sions. 1 It is yet another-object of the present invention to provide -a cigarette perforating device, wherein an easy and provides the benefit of reduced outside dimendependable rotation of the cigarette within the casing;

about the longitudinal axis of the cigarette is brought about by roughening the surface of the needlebed, or part of it, oil-"the face carrying the needle points. Most suitably, the roughening consists of a grooving of the needle thedirt action of movement of the needle bed.-

a It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a cigarette perforating device, which includes means for fastening the needle beds'to the inside offian endlessbelt disposedwithin thecasing and beingmovable in the directions of its circumference. In accordance with the present invention, a suitable handling of this device is accomplished by running the endless belt over rolls or over guide surfaces and by providing, on the outside of the casing, an actuating knob for moving the belt with the needle beds, and a coupling pin for establishing the connection with the movable members passes through an elongated slot in one of the side walls of the casing.

With these and other objects in view, which will become apparent in the following detailed description, the present perpendicular to= non-elastic material.

3,080,872 Patented Mar. 12, 1963 invention will be clearly understood in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which: FIGURE 1 is a section through a perforating device designed in accordance with the present invention, taken along the lines 11 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 2 is a section taken along the lines 2-2 of FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is a section similar to that shown in FIG. 1 of another embodiment of the present invention, the casing, however, being removed;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged longitudinal section through a needle bed; and

FIG. 5 is a section of still another embodiment of the present invention disclosing needle beds movable in parallel opposite directions. p

Referring now to the drawings, and in particular to FIGS. 1 and 2, the device for perforating the wrapper tube of cigarettes comprises a substantially closed fiat casing 10, one side wall of which is provided with an elongated slot 11. Bearingplates 12 and 13 engage the end walls of the-casing 10, which plates 12 and 13 carry the turning pins of four rollers 14. One of the end walls .of the casing 10 and the associated bearing plate 13 are pierced, thus creating a suitable tapered aperture 15 for the insertion of the cigarette 16, the tip 17 of which remains outside the apparatus, in order not to perforate the same. To correctly guide the cigarette 16 into the casing 10, a holder is provided in the center of the device, the holder comprising, as shown in FIG. 1, a partial cylindrical guide surface 18, the cross-sectionof 'which is such that the cigarette 16 remains freely accessible on the side on which the perforation is to be made.

A coupling pin 19 projects from the outside into the ,casing 10 through the elongated slot 11, which coupling pin 19 is provided with an actuating knob 20 at its outside end and connects the actuating knob 20 with a needle bed 21 disposed inside the casing 10'. The needle bed 21 is equipped with needle points 22. As shown in FIG. 2, the needle points 22 may be arranged such, that the perforated wrapper tube has a girth of perforations near its'tip and other perforations are disposed along a helical line from the girth over the remaining length of the wrapper tube. The needle points 22 may also be distributed on the needle bed 21, however, in any other manner, in order to provide any other suitable arrangement of perfo rations.

As endless belt 23 runs with slight initial tension around therollers 14. The endless belt 23 may be of elastic or v The needle bed 21 is attached to the endless belt by means of conventional fasteners or adhesives. The endless belt 23 serves then as a guiding means for the needle bed 21.

For perforating a cigarette, a cigarette 16 is inserted into thecasing 10 through the tapered aperture 15, the actuating knob 20 and, thus, also the needle bed 21 being in one of the end positions of the'slot 11. By moving the actuating knob 20 along the slot 11 to the opposite end position of the latter, the perforation in the wrapper tube has been accomplished. While the actuating knob 20 is moved to opposite end positions of the slot 11, the needle bed 21 caused to ride tangentially over the cigarette 16, the

cigarette 16 on diagonally opposite sides thereof.

such that they can rotate easily and which are arranged around the cigarette 16 in such a manner that the needle bed 21 can freely ride tangentially over the cigarette 16. The other members of the embodiment of FIG. 3 are identical with those of FIG. 1 and are identified by the same numerals referred to in the description of FIG. 1.

The enlarged section of the needle bed 21 in FIG. 4 shows that the surface of the latter is provided, on the face carrying the needle points 22 with a rough surface 25. This rough surface is preferably obtained by a grooving, the grooves being disposed perpendicularly to the direction of movement of the needle bed 21 The grooving is intended to ensure the correct rotation of the cigarette 16 by surface friction between the wrapper tube and the rough surface 25.

Referring now to FIG. 5, another embodiment of the present invention is disclosed, in which a compact design of the device is brought about by-the use of two needle beds 27 and 27a, moving in parallel opposite directions, which needle beds27 and 27a move tangentially over the The length of each of the needle beds 27 and 27a corresponds approximately to one-half of the circumference of the wrapper tube to be perforated. During the insertion of the cigarette 16 which is held in place by two guides 26,

and is easily rotatable, the actuating knob 20 is in one of its end positions in the slot 11 of the casing 10. While the actuating knob 20 is pushed to the other end position in the slot 11, the two needle beds 27 and 27a, which are securely fastened to the endless belt 23?, move in opposite directions over the wrapper tube to be perforated, the needle points 22 of each of the two needle beds 27 and 27a perforate the respective halves of the circumference of the wrapper tube. The two needle beds 27 and 27a, may be provided, also, on their needle point face, with a rough surface 25, as shown in FIG. 4.

Design details may vary from the embodiments shown in the drawings. Preferably, the needle bed is axially displaceable by the coupling pin 19 of the actuating knob 20 with the resultant advantage that the needle bed is not effected by the pressure exerted on the actuating knob in the direction of the cigarette, but can elastically ride over the cigarette due to the flexibility of the belt carrying the needle beds.

When brought into their end positions, the needle bed flanks or edges facing the cigarette may also act as additional guides for the cigarette while it is being inserted into the device. The perforating device described above is suitable for cigarettes having a cork tip or the like.

While I have disclosed several embodiments of the present invention, it is to be understood that these embodiments are given by example only and not in a limiting sense, the scope of the present invention being determined by the objects and the claims.

I claim:

1. A device for perforating the wrappers of cigarettes comprising a casing having oppositely disposed end walls, a front wall and a rear wall,

one of said end walls of said casing having an aperture adapted to insert therethrough a cigarette,

said front wall of said casing having a longitudinal slot,

a needle bed disposed in said casing adjacent said front wall,

means for moving said needle bed along said longitudinal slot for tangential engagement with said cigarette inserted in said casing during said movement of said needle bed,

holder means mounted in said casing and retaining a cigarette in predetermined position and freely rotatable in said casing, and

said needle bed having a plurality of needle points projecting from its face opposite said cigarette, so that upon movement of said needle bed along said longitudinal slot of said casing tangentially to said cigarette, said needle points perforate said wrapper of said cigarette.

2. The device, as set forth in claim 1, wherein two of said needle beds are disposed in said casing diagonally opposite each other adjacent said front wall and said rear wall, respectively,

each of said needle beds having a length substantially equal with one-half of the circumference of said wrapper of said cigarette, and

means for moving said needle beds simultaneously in parallel opposite directions in order to engage said wrapper of said cigarette at diagonally opposite points and to perforate said diagonally opposite points of said wrapper simultaneously by said needle beds.

3. The device, as set forth in claim 1, wherein said needle bed has a rough surface on at least a part of the face thereof carrying said needle points.

4. The device, as set forth in claim 3, wherein said rough surface includes grooves disposed perpendicularly to the direction of movement of said needle bed.

5. The device, as set forth in claim 1, which includes an endless belt disposed within and movable along said front and rear walls of said casing, and

said needle bed being secured to said endless belt and movable therewith.

6. The device, as set forth in claim 5, which includes guide means disposed substantially in a corner of said casing and guiding the movement of said endless belt,

a coupling pin projecting from said needle bed through said longitudinal slot to the outside of said casing, and

an actuating knob secured to the outer end of said coupling pin and permitting the movement of said needle bed along said longitudinal slot by manual operation of said actuating knob.

7. The device, as set forth in claim 6, which includes means for linear displacement of said needle bed by said coupling pin.

8. The device, as set forth in claim 1, wherein said needle bed has edge formations to constitute additional guide means for the insertion of said cigarette into said casing when said needle bed is in one of its end positions.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

1. A DEVICE FOR PERFORATING THE WRAPPERS OF CIGARETTES COMPRISING A CASING HAVING OPPOSITELY DISPOSED END WALLS, A FRONT WALL AND A REAR WALL, ONE OF SAID END WALLS OF SAID CASING HAVING AN APERTURE ADAPTED TO INSERT THERETHROUGH A CIGARETTE, SAID FRONT WALL OF SAID CASING HAVING A LONGITUDINAL SLOT, A NEEDLE BED DISPOSED IN SAID CASING ADJACENT SAID FRONT WALL, MEANS FOR MOVING SAID NEEDLE BED ALONG SAID LONGITUDINAL SLOT FOR TANGENTIAL ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID CIGARETTE INSERTED IN SAID CASING DURING SAID MOVEMENT OF SAID NEEDLE BED, HOLDER MEANS MOUNTED IN SAID CASING AND RETAINING A CIGARETTE IN PREDETERMINED POSITION AND FREELY ROTATABLE IN SAID CASING, AND SAID NEEDLE BED HAVING A PLURALITY OF NEEDLE POINTS PROJECTING FROM ITS FACE OPPOSITE SAID CIGARETTE, SO THAT UPON MOVEMENT OF SAID NEEDLE BED ALONG SAID LONGITUDINAL SLOT OF SAID CASING TANGENTIALLY TO SAID CIGARETTE, SAID NEEDLE POINTS PERFORATE SAID WRAPPER OF SAID CIGARETTE. 